The Spell at the Oak

[Nester]

Ok thanks for the feedback folks. Interesting to hear some of our language's history. I had just been thinking before you replied that I should edit my preface because 'fantasy epic'doesn't really fit. I'll do that now.

Out of interest, I know it's also mentioned as a rookie error in this forum, why are poets taught not to write in the old style?

For a number of reasons:

1. You are writing it wrong. It is no longer the way you read and write so you are inconsistently applying it, much like writing in Spanglish or broken English.

2. Because it is not the language we speak or use today it reads contrived, artificial or faux-poetic.

Okay your first point I will take. As for the second - what if the aim is to encapsulate that ye olde poetry feel? ie. For an illustrated book with a traditional fantasy setting?

I think if you want to go that route, you'll need to spend some time both reading the Old Masters, and (more importantly) learning why their poetry works. I'd start by learning about formal meter (since epics always use it), as well as the different devices poets used to make the poem interesting while retaining that meter. Erthona suggested some poets to read: I would add "Paradise Lost", "Beowulf", and selections from "The Faerie Queen".

If that sounds like too much, you might try Keats, who touches on some fantastic themes with more contemporary language. You might also like Rudyard Kipling. Regardless, you *must* read Alexander Pope's "Essay on Criticism", both for the advice, and for the archetypical example of how to elevate the most cliched form (rhymed couplets) to true artistry.

tl;dr: If you're going this route, then respect the commitment, because it only works if you do it right.

Hope this helps,

Nester